Mechanoid creation

For the enemy structure that creates mechanoids in the Royalty DLC, see Mech assembler.

With the release of the Biotech DLC, mechanoids may be built, gestated, and controlled by a colony - specifically, by a mechanitor.

Acquisition

Mechanitors are required to build, gestate, and control your own mechanoids. Research must be done with a valid mechaniator in the colony, and only the mechanitor may initiate any of the mech creation processes. First, creating your own mechs requires the Basic Mechtech research, which in turn requires the Electricity research to be completed first.

1. Mechanitors must have enough bandwidth for the mechanoid in question. The larger and more complex the mechanoid is, the more bandwidth is required.
2. All mechanoids require a subcore to create, along with other materials like steel. Simple mechs use a basic subcore (from a subcore encoder, while more complex ones require a standard subscore (from a subcore softscanner) or high subcore (from a subcore ripscanner). The ripscanner in particular requires killing a human pawn to create.
3. After being "built" for a tiny amount of a mechanitor's work, mechs must gestate at a mech gestator or large mech gestator. Gestation types are measured in cycles; each cycle is 1.8 game days by default, and larger mechs require more cycles. A mech gestation processor can be installed into a mechanitor to increase the speed. When cycling is done, the mechanitor must take the mech out.

More complex mechanoids require more research. Mechanoid research in particular requires killing one of three mechanoid commanders - the Diabolus, War queen, and Apocriton, in order of progression - and studying their specific item before it is possible.

Hostile mechanoids cannot be tamed or converted in any way, even if once part of your colony. However, you can create every mechanoid in the game, except for the Termite and Apocriton.

Summary

Mechanitors are required to control mechanoids. A mechanitor has a limited amount of bandwidth, which controls the amount and complexity of mechanoids they can command.

In general mechanoids are immune to fire, toxicity, and temperature extremes, despite having a Comfortable Temperature. They are vulnerable to EMP attacks, being stunned by them. Mechanoids do not need to eat, sleep, and have no mood. However, they require power, and cause pollution in the process.

Mechs considered "light" use a regular mech recharger and mech gestator. Mechs considered "medium" or heavier use the large mech recharger and large mech gestator.

Power

Player mechanoids use a variable amount of power, depending on their state.

• They use 10% power / day when active: labor mechs doing work, or being awake at all for combat mechs.
• Worker mechanoids use 3% power / day while idle, or not doing work.
• Mechanoids can be commanded to enter a state of dormancy, preventing power drain but recharging at a very slow rate of 1% power / day. Mechs that run out of power will also enter this state.

They can instead be recharged at a mech recharger or large mech recharger, which quickly recharges them - +50% power / day. This leads to a theoretical uptime of 83.3% - 5 days working, 1 day charging. The mech recharger itself creates waster. Once its waste meter is filled, toxic wastepacks are created. The amount of waste is directly correlated to the mech's bandwidth, where 1 bandwidth = 5 wastepacks.

Mechanoids can be repaired at the cost of their power, the rate dependent on which mech it is. This will restore otherwise permanent injuries. If killed, mechanoids can be ressurected at the cost of some size-dependent steel and gestation time, so long as some part of their corpse is intact

Behavior

Mech are fully autonomous. You cannot order mechanoid work in any direct way, though you can indirectly control it through setting zones. Specifically, mechs are put into control groups, which can then be assigned to one of four orders:

• Work: Do available work tasks. Start charging after reaching a configurable % of power left.
• Escort: Follow the mechanitor around and fight enemies. Start charging after reaching a configurable % of power left.
• Recharge: Look for available recharging stations and use them. Enter dormant self-charging if full or no available charging stations.
• Dormant self-charging: Turns off the mechs. While dormant, mechs recharge a very small amount of power (+1% power / day) without a charger or any pollution.

Control groups and orders may be changed, the mechanitor must be controllable (not downed and not under a mental break), and their mechs are in the same map. If they are seperated, mechs will continue to do their tasks without a problem, and won't become hostile. However, control groups and their orders can not be changed.

Mechs can also be drafted for combat, where they are controlled like any colonist. However, the mechanoid can only be ordered to move to spaces within a 25-tile radius from their master, and they can only be ordered to do other commands while in said radius. Mechs can be drafted outside of this range (but not if the mechanitor is downed), where they can defend themselves, carry out previous combat commands, or be commanded to go near the mechanitor.

If the mechanitor dies or runs out of bandwidth, mechanoids will go into the Uncontrolled state. They will not be uncontrolled if the mechanitor is downed, in a caravan, etc. After 60,000 ticks (16.67 mins) uncontrolled, there is a chance for a mech to go fferal with MTB of 10 in-game days, with a cascade radius of 25 tiles.^[Verify]

Mechanoids assigned to work tasks have an effective Skill of 10, though most have a 50% Global Work Speed, and some of them work even slower.

Controllable Mechanoids

Light

• Militor - Combat mechanoid, armed with a low-power mini-shotgun. Cheap to gestate and maintain.
• Lifter - Mechanoid designed for hauling.
• Constructoid - Mechanoid designed for construction.
• Fabricor - Mechanoid designed for crafting and tailoring.
• Agrihand - Mechanoid designed for plant work.
• Cleansweeper - Mechanoid designed for cleaning.
• Paramedic - Mechanoid designed for rescue and tending, with the ability to jump and a firefoam pack.

Medium

• Scorcher - Combat mechanoid designed to burn enemies
• Scyther - Fast melee combat mechanoid
• Pikeman - High range, low damage combat mechanoid
• Lancer - Fast, medium ranged combat mechanoid with the high damage charge lance
• Tesseron - Combat mechanoid with sweeping beam graser attack.
• Legionary - Combat mechanoid with bullet shield and needle gun.

Heavy

• Tunneler - Mechanoid designed for fast mining; comes with a shield, smoke pack, and melee attack
• Centipede - Crowd control mechanoid with increidble bulk; 3 possible weapons
• Centurion - Built-in shield bubble generator, point-defense bulb turret capable of firing while the mechanoid is moving.

Commander

• Diabolus - Ultra-powerful, but slow hellsphere cannon. Small turret and close-range flame burst otherwise.
• War queen - Built-in mech gestator, creating a mass of war urchins.
• War urchin - Small mechanoids created by a war queen, they have a finite power supply and can't be recharged.

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Mechanoids

Mechanoids | Core

Centipede (Blaster, Burner, Gunner) • Lancer • Pikeman • Scyther • Termite

Combat

Centurion • Legionary • Militor • Scorcher • Tesseron

Command

Apocriton • Diabolus • War queen (War urchin )

Labor

Agrihand • Cleansweeper • Constructoid • Fabricor • Lifter • Paramedic • Tunneler

Cluster | Buildings

Condition causer • Count-down activator • Mech assembler • Mech capsule • Mech drop beacon • Mech high-shield • Mech low-shield • Mech node • Proximity activator • Unstable power cell

Turrets

Auto charge turret • Auto inferno turret • Auto mortar • Mini-slugger turret

Creation | Pawn

Mechanitor

Buildings

Mech gestator • Large mech gestator • Mechband antenna • Mechband dish